Building relationships should be an activity that is ingrained into your everyday life. It is a long-term process that leads to HUGE rewards. As long as you are persistent and have patience, you can achieve the maximum benefit that networking has to offer. Of course, you need to be effective and efficient when building relationships.
So, what is this reward that I am referring to? It is different for everyone but for most of us it is to generate more sales. Most people only network so they can ultimately bring in more revenue to their company. For this post, I will only focus on this networking goal. Producing sales is a tangible outcome that can be measured from networking.
Focus on Selling Yourself, Not Your Company
For any product or service, there is a sales cycle, which means that people or corporations don’t make decisions right away. A purchase could take anywhere from a few days to a couple of years, which depends a lot on the complexity, need, and price. Another reason that sales can take longer is if you don’t have a clear path to the buyer. It may take you awhile to find your way around a large company to get in front of the right person. Also, it may take awhile for you to get to know an individual within a company before he/she is comfortable buying from you.
Let’s explore the last sentence a bit more. People generally buy from individuals who they already know and trust. So, this should be your goal in trying to make a sale. Spend time getting to know decision makers so when they need your product/service, they will either purchase from you or endorse you within the company. When this happens, a sale is usually imminent.
So, when meeting people, don’t ever try to sell your company. Rather sell yourself so you can get to know each other. Spend time discussing your interests and skills. When the time is right, a sale will come naturally. In reality, the sales cycle will probably be shorter by following this strategy. Plus, you will most likely get referrals because when people trust you, they make introductions.
Nurture Your Relationships
In the above section, I talked about the begin and end of securing more sales. Now, l will dive into the middle section, which is what will lead you to the sale. After you meet someone who you connect with, focus your efforts on getting to know this person. However, don’t go into this relationship only wanting a sale. Be genuine and truly want to build the relationship. Otherwise, your efforts will be false and not effective. You need to have passion and want to connect.
With that said, integrate these people into your network by keeping in touch through face to face meetings, electronic means, or phone calls. Make sure that you invite people to lunch, send them articles of interest, or make introductions. The point is that you need to stay relevant so find ways to provide value.
Build one relationship at a time so you can provide specific value to certain individuals. Of course, there will be times when you will send out a newsletter or group email to your network. This is fine as long as you occasionally reach out to people individually.
Provide Value by Helping
As I mentioned above, part of nurturing the relationship is to provide value. If you don’t have anything to offer others, why would they want to stay in touch? We live in a world with so many people that if you aren’t providing value, then you will get lost in the crowd and have a hard time connecting with others. Thus, you will have lost sales opportunities.
So, how do you make yourself relevant? You need to be very proactive and always look for ways to help and provide value. As you get to know people, find out their needs. If it isn’t apparent in a conversation, then just ask them. They will be happy to share this with you because you took the time to care. Most people don’t show that they care so this will make you stand out.
After you understand some of their needs, offer to help by doing research, making a connection, or reviewing a business strategy. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you follow through and do a good job. You will be remembered for this kind act and will forever be in this person’s network. Don’t just do one good deed, do several. In fact, don’t take count. It should happen naturally and continuously whenever you can help.
Have Patience, Sales Will Come
As you are building relationships, your network will grow and the sales will come when the time is right. Have patience because it could take awhile for the first sale to come. Over time, sales should come more frequently as your relationships get stronger. So, remember this following equation:
Sell Yourself + Nurture +Value + Patience = Increased Sales
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